I bought a bulb from Telos when they had a group/PBS discount on orders last year. It has successfully supplied me leaves each year but as of yet has not bloomed. I'm going to try the "withhold water" trick. Thanks for the info, Mary Sue. Ann Marie Mary Sue Ittner <msittner@mcn.org> wrote:///Dear/ All, In June I wrote about Phaedranassa carmioli hoping someone would respond to help me clarify this species. I refer to that post: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbslist/old.php/… No one responded. I saw a plant named Phaedranassa carmioli in a friend's garden in Santa Cruz, California. She had purchased it from a nursery and plunked it in the ground. I remember wondering if it would survive the winter. When I saw it there were seed pods just opening and she said I could have some. Later she lost it in a cold winter confirming my fears. I floated my seeds (I have since gone to planting winged seeds directly on their sides in containers within a plastic bag tent and lose fewer to transplanting that way) and they germinated in two or three weeks (1998). My first bloom was in 2001. Ever since Bill Dijk and Diana Chapman explained that blooming is more consistent if you withholding water for periods of time, I have had good success with getting a number of my pots, all grown from seed, to flower. Rarely do they lose all their leaves in winter even after several months without water. Last year I decided to vary when I stopped watering them to prolong the bloom. It seemed to work as I had one container start to bloom in April, another in May-June, and another in July. This plant from my friend's garden is the most reliable bloomer I have. A couple of other species have not been as successful. I grow it in a container I keep in my greenhouse all of the year, although this year I brought out some of the plants when they were blooming which prolonged the bloom I think. I sent seeds to Dell for the BX and have explained that it was labeled Phaedranassa carmioli, but this may or may not be what it is. I've added pictures of this plant from the ones that bloomed in April and a close up of the flowers in another pot that bloomed this month. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… This genus was requested to be a topic of the week. Anyone else willing to share their experiences with it? Mary Sue _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php Ann Marie So. California, San Gabriel Valley, Zone 21 (Sunset Western Garden book) , influenced by both marine and interior air(Santa Ana winds). This makes it perfect for Citrus trees and most So African plants. I collect belladonnas, oxalis, criniums, amaryllis, palms, epiphyllums, succulents and other south african bulbs. email me at mysticgardn@yahoo.com for list of bulbs and plants for sale. For home and garden sculptures go to http://www.rjunkdrawer.com/ --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage!